


That Special Someone

by RedAlpha



Category: Step Up (Movies)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Eddy's a mix between him and Misha Gabriel, Eventuall smut, F/M, Rated for harsh language, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6257140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedAlpha/pseuds/RedAlpha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the event with the Vortex, The Mob's and LMNTRX has decided that it would be best if they merged the two group and continued their pursue in the entertainment world. A year has passed and they decided that it's about time they go back to Miami for some rest. On their holiday, however, they encounter a young girl in an unexpected way.</p><p>/summary on progress. Title too.../ /actually everything is on progress/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Click the Play Button

**Author's Note:**

> This series created because I love MISHA GABRIEL. Thank you.
> 
> Disclaimer : I did not anyone in this fanfic except the original character. [even though I really want to have Misha-]

Miami. The city of magic. The city that could attract a lot of tourist with it’s beauty. The dazzling sun that hit the South Beach were like spells that invite people to enjoy the water on the sea. At night, the lamp from the building in Ocean Drive seems like able to hypnotize people to go out for a stroll. For some people, Miami is a place where they could enjoy themselves in vacation. But for Sean and the Mob’s member, Miami is home.

The man had been away from home for more than a year, and he actually missed the city a lot. He had been busy after the Vortex with the TV show program and other appearance on other TV shows. The Mob’s leader mostly busy with photo-shoots for clothing advertisement and he always missed the day when he could just play around and dancing with his friends. Once the first season of their TV show program wrapped up, the producer gave them a months of vacation before they go on with the second season. So he took the opportunity and went back to Miami with everyone in the group.

Sean was surprised when he saw that the city has changed a lot. The ‘slums’ area that used to be hated by upper class people were now rearranged, redecorated and became more beautiful than before. The Garage was no different. He was shocked when he received a call from Anderson, informing him that the garage will be demolished, until the middle aged man corrected his word and inform him that he will rebuild the garage into something more appropriate for dancing. The Mob’s and LMNTRX’s leader still remember the idiotic grin on his friends face when they rounded the garage to find out that they now several studios, complete with mirrors and sound system in it. _They even keep Eddy’s computer room and remodeled it._

He sighed when he suddenly recalled the events from last year. The broke up between him and Emily, the fight with The Mob, meeting Andie, and the fraud in the Vortex. It has been hard, and he has been a dick, but he was lucky to have a best friend as stubborn as him who was royal to him even though he was an asshole. _Eddy was really stubborn when he asked the other member to forgave him._

In the end, everything became peaceful again. _That was last year and what matter is the present,_ he thought to himself. So, here he is, enjoying the sun in Miami as he walked down the street with a bag full with burgers on his hand.

But that was five minutes ago, before the cloud suddenly surrounded and rained the city.

“Holy shi-!” He cursed as he covered the bags and ran at the drop of a hat. “Thank god, it’s close already.” He, however, suddenly stopped when he spotted a body laying on the floor right in front of the garage’s door.

“What the hell?” He said as he knelled beside the body and shook it. “Yo, are you okay?”

Hearing no response, Sean flipped the body. He was horrified when he examined the body in front of him. It was a girl around his age, probably younger. She was drenched from the rain and she looked like she has not has any bath for a while. _The worst part of it was she was unconscious._

“The fuck!” He cursed as he lifted the body.

The Mob’s leader hurriedly took the girl inside the Mob’s Garage and carried her to one of the studio. He yelled to Eddy and Moose who was standing in front of the door, telling them to move away. Kiddo and Penelope that occupied the red couch on one corned of the room quickly stood up as Sean also told them to move away and placed the poor girl carefully on the couch. The other member that was still on the room gave a confused look to their leader.

“Sean, who the fuck is this?” Eddy asked.

“I don’t know, man.” He stated as he wiped the water on his face and throw the bags with burger to the table. “I found her in front of the garage.”

“Is she alive?” This time, the special effect master asked.

“Uh, I didn’t check it.”

“She’s alive.” Penelope said. Her finger is on the girl’s neck.

“You’re supposed to check it first.” Jason scolded.                            

“I was panicked! Okay?” The Mob’s leader defended.

“What are we going to do with her?” Moose asked as he emerged from behind Eddy.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should wait until she’s feeling better.”

“What? No.” Eddy said as he stepped back, bumping Moose in the process. “We can’t keep her in here! We don’t know who she is!”

Sean groaned. He roughly ran a hand through his hair. He knew that his best friend would object it, knowing that Eddy was really aware about people who can entered their garage. He knew that he should not let random people get in their circle easily, but Eddy sometimes forgot that not everyone wanted to destroy their community.

“Dude, it’s raining outside and she is obviously not okay!” He stated as he pointed at the body lying on the couch. His voice raised an octave. “We can’t just leave her outside!”

“Then we can send her back to her house when she awake!” The shorter man said, almost yelling.

“I don’t have one.” A weak and hoarse voice broke the quarrel and all the Mob turned their attention to the girl on the couch. “I have no home.”

“Where am I?” she asked as she glanced around for a while.

“Probably in heaven.” Eddy said sarcastically. He groaned when Jason jabbed his side.

Sean was about to scold Eddy when he noticed that the girl was staring at them. Her brown eyes carefully eyed the people around her and stopped at Eddy. Her heavy eyes stared at him intently to the point that it makes the dancer fidgeting awkwardly. The girl let out a heavy sigh as she slowly getting into sitting position, slightly wobbling as she support her body with her elbow.

“Uh. It’s okay.” she started. “I just want to take a shelter in _front_ of your garage.”

The girl was ready to stand when Penelope suddenly stopped her. “No. No. No. No! No! It’s okay. You can stay here.”

The girl looked at Penelope and then back to Eddy again. She uncomfortably rested her body back to the couch. Sean, who noticed her discomfort, sighed and walked to the sofa to crouch in front of her.

“Sorry about my friend. He could be a jerk sometimes.” Eddy rolled his eyes at Sean’s comment. The girl nodded knowingly, eyes barely focused on Sean. “What’s your name?”

“Alex." She hesitated for a second. "Alexandra.”

“Alright, Alex. Don’t worry about him, you can stay—“ Sean stopped. The girl was already fast asleep before Sean could finished his word.

The Mob’s member looked at Alex in disbelief. They examined the girl’s feature as she snored softly. Her clothes, which obviously haven’t been washed for a long time and ripped in several places, was wet from the rain and it dampen the couch. Alex’s eyebrow was knitted as if she was not even enjoying her sleep. The dark hair that was loosen was tousled in every place, some strain stuck on her face. There were several wound on cheek and finger and her nail was black from dirt. Her body was too skinny, as if she haven’t eat anything. Judging by her appearance, The Mob easily understand that the girl has been through a hard time and needed a proper rest. _Except for Eddy..._

“I still don’t agree to keep her in here.” He said, breaking the silence.

The Mob’s leader ignored his best friend’s comment and asked Jason. “Are you staying here tonight?” Jason nodded at the question. He and Eddy was planning to stay at the garage to make a new dance routine. “Alright. We’ll let her stay here for a while, okay? Pen, I have a spare clothes in my bag upstairs, let her change when she wake up. I’m gonna go home so, Jason, please make sure that this idiot,” Sean pointed at Eddy who frowned at his finger. “do not kick her out of here.”

Eddy snorted “Why do you even care, dude?”

“Eddy!” Penelope glared at him. “She’s homeless!”

Eddy rolled his eyes, silently mumbled something inappropriate, and received another jab on his side from Jason. “Ouch, dude! Okay, Okay! Whatever.” Sean let out an exasperated sigh before he turned on his heels.

“Just make sure that _that_ idiot did not kick her out of here!”

 

-Dance without you-

 

Three hour has passed since Sean brought the homeless girl into their garage. The rest of Mob’s dancers has gone for more than an hour ago, leaving Alex with Jason, Penelope, and unhappy Eddy. The girl hasn’t wake up nor moved for the past three hour, just sleeping soundly. Penelope was sitting on the floor, near Alex, with her laptop on the coffee table. While the girls were resting, the boys were busy combining their choreography for the opening of their TV show program.

“... Wait, wait.” Jason said, making Eddy stopped his dance. “Why don’t we make this part more interesting? After I turned, I’ll dance first and then everyone will follow in order.”

The shorter man paid attention as Jason showed him his idea for their choreography. “That’s actually good.” He nodded slightly in approval. “Let’s try that. _5,6,7,8. Turn...”_

They both danced again, following the instruction that Jason just gave. The special effect master could see that Eddy was quite satisfied with the choreography when he smirked and finished the dance with MJ’s pose. However, that is not the only thing that he noticed. The black skinned dancer also noticed how the shorter dancer would sneakily took a glances to the girl since the beginning of their routine.

_He knew that Eddy was a good man, he just happened to be very stubborn._

“Oh, sh--!” Eddy cursed when he accidentally fell.

“Dude, you okay?” Jason offered his hand to Eddy. “Let’s take a break.”

Eddy huffed as he pulled his body to stand up. “Yeah, man. We’re _sweating_ the floor.”

Jason chuckled and walked to where Penelope is, followed by Eddy. She was still sitting on the floor, only now her back was facing them. Jason could guess that his girlfriend was _busy_ scrolling down the Youtube from her laptop. He lifted his brows in surprise when he saw the girl was awake.

“Oh, you’re awake.” The black skinned dancer said. Eddy stood side him, eyes glaring the poor girl.

“Yep! Eddy cursed aloud.” The DJ said. “Eddy! Stop it!”

“What? Stop wha--, Ow! Fuck! I get it! Stop jabbing me!” Eddy slapped Jason’s hand that tried to give him more jab. “Geez. My side’s fucked.”

“’Cause you’re being a dick.” The dark skinned dancer flopped his body to the floor beside Penelope.

“You’re jelly ‘cause it’s bigger than yours.”

“Nah, ya just never saw it in full action. Right, Pen?”

“Guys!” Penelope wrinkled her nose in disgust. Jason uttered sorry under his breath while Eddy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “How do you feel?” She turned her attention back to Alex, who was amused by the boys.

A sigh escaped from Alex’s pale lips as she rubbed her arms with her palms. “Cold.”

Jason lifted both of his brows. “No kidding. _Ya_ drenched from the rain.” He smiled warmly at her and offered her to take a shower and change her clothes.

The girl frowned her brows and rubbed her arms again. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Besides, I don’t have anything other than what I wear right now.

Jason chuckled. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, girl. We got extra clothes, man clothes though, but better than none. Besides...” He paused with a grin, imitating Alex’s word. “The shower had warm water.”

Alex stilled for a moment. Her eyes looked to the ceiling, considering the kind offer. Jason’s grin grew wider when he saw Alex’s lips tucked into small smile.

“That sounded very nice actually.” Alex looked down for a moment. Her face covered in the shadow. “Thank you.” She smiled at them.

Jason and Penelope returned her smile with a wide grin. Eddy, on the other hand, turned around and shook his head in defeat. Jason turned his head to Eddy when he noticed Alex’s sudden change of expression and realized that the man already walked to the center of the room. He let out a sigh and nudged Penelope, silently signaling the girl to help Alex.

The DJ understood quickly and stood up. “Come on. I’ll show you the way.”

Jason watched in silent when Alex stood and followed Penelope. The DJ kindly struck a conversation with the homeless girl about the shower. Their voice were gone when they disappeared to the hallway. The dark skinned dancer stood up and approached Eddy, who was dancing again.

“Man, Pen’s gonna kill you.” He said.

“... and why is that?” Eddy asked, his eyes focused on his reflection on the mirror.

“’cause you’re being a jerk to a homeless girl.”

Eddy’s shoulders slumped as he stopped his dance and sighed silently. He turned around and faced the dark skinned dancer. “I just don’t want shits like _Emily_ happens again, bro.” Jason furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “I mean, I nearly lose my best friend for her and we nearly lost our future in L.A because of her too. Sean wouldn’t be a dick if Emily didn’t broke up with him.” He stopped a moment and took a breath. “What if this girl tried to pull the same shit?”

Jason nodded slightly. Eddy has a point. Sean’s was a mess back in L.A. His broke up with Emily affect him a lot and definitely wrecked his brain. The contemporary dancer has the worst timing ever to broke up with Sean and pursue her career. At first, Sean looked fine. Everything began normally back in L.A, until they realized that their leader has been consumed by the ambition to show Emily that they could also became a star and she had choose a wrong path by leaving them. He was mad and made a very idiotic decision. Though, if it’s not for Sean and Eddy’s stubbornness, they wouldn’t be as famous as they are now. Eventually, everyone got together again and Sean and Eddy decided to merge LMNTRX, adopting the old family name for their new group. But, that was an old story and Sean already have Andie now. _And Alex is a different story._

“But you don’t have to—“

“What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?” Penelope’s voice thundering throughout the room as she opened the door. Her face was fifty shades of anger.

“There she is.”

“What the _fuck_ is _fucking_ wrong with you, _asshole?_ ” She cursed as she stormed to Eddy.

“Whoa, easy on the name calling, girl.” Eddy raised both of his hand in defense and stepped back as Penelope invaded his personal space. “I didn’t mean to be harsh to her but I can’t help it, okay?”

“What do you mean you _can’t help it,_ Eddy? She doesn’t have a home!”

“We have no idea who she is! We can’t just let a stranger be in our circle.” Eddy heaved another sigh and closed his eyes for a moment before opened it again. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ll do my best to not make any other harsh comment, how’s that?”

The DJ rolled her eyes in aggravation and raised a finger to point at Eddy. “You’d better be, or I’ll kick your ass out of here tonight.” she said threateningly before she walked to where her laptop is.

Jason watch his girlfriend in amusement as she sat in front of her laptop and continue watching the videos on Youtube. He turned his attention back to Eddy, who pursed his lips with both of his eyebrows knitted together. He awkwardly swung his arms back and forth before he clasped them together.

“Let’s get back to our routine.” He said facing the mirror once again.

Jason chuckled and wiggle his brows at Eddy. "Told you she’s gonna kill you.”

“Shut up, bro.”

\--- Dance Without You ---

The DJ of the South Beach were now busy clicking her mouse that connected to her laptop after she satisfy herself with 12 videos of Tyler Gage and Nora Clark’s newest tour videos. She was making a new mix for their upcoming TV show program. Her feet was kicking the air rapidly but not because she has trouble mixing the song. Instead, it was because Alex. Thirty minutes has passed since she led the girl to the bathroom and she has not returned yet. _Damn, what if she fainted._

Bad thought were fleeting around her mind when she hurriedly stood from where she sat. She was ready to dash out to the bathroom when suddenly the door opened.

“I’m so sorry, Penelope. I used your shampoo too much.” Alex said as soon as she entered the room.

“Damn it, girl. You got me worried.” Pen sighed, flopping back to the floor. “I thought you fainted.”

The homeless girl smiled. “Well, I actually wanted to stay longer but, yeah, I almost fainted.” Alex walked to where the DJ seated, this time joined her on the floor.

Pen watched carefully as the homeless girl rested her back on the sofa and her legs straightened on the floor. She was wearing Sean’s oversized black tank top that reach to her tight and his blue basketball shorts. The towel Pen gave to her was draped on her shoulder. Her shoulder length hair was combed to the back, revealing her forehead. The dirt that was on her face, hands, and legs were cleaned revealing a tanned skin. Even though Alex still looked pale, she at least looked fresher.

“Man, what is wrong with you?” Jason’s voice asked from the middle of the room.

“Huh, what? N-nothing.” Pen looked at Eddy in time to see him averted his gaze to the floor while his hand was busy scratching his bearded jaw. _Did Eddy just blushed?_

Pen looked at them in amusement as the dark skinned dancer gave the shorter man a playful grin before smacking him on the arm. Eddy punched the air when Jason skillfully dodged his attack and retreat to sit beside the DJ again. Eddy grumped behind him and sat beside Jason. The DJ shook her head in amusement and apologized for them.

“Please don’t mind them. They could be kids sometimes.”

Alex chuckled lowly. “I’m cool with it.”

Penelope smiled and nodded. They sat in silence for a moment until something came into her mind and she stood abruptly. “That’s right.” She stormed to the piles of bags beside the sofa and snatched a black and light blue bag.

“Pen?” The hacker asked when he recognized the bag. "What are you doing with my bag?” She searched through the pile of clothes in it and fished out a burger that Sean bought for him earlier. “That’s my burger!” Eddy screamed.

“Yeah and I’m giving it to her.” She said as she handed the cheese burger to Alex.

“Why!?”

“’cause it’s the only food here and it’s raining outside. Duh!” Eddy’s mouth parted in disbelieve and Pen gave him a sharp glare. “Shut it, Eddy.”

The hacker threw his hands while mouthing _whatever_ to the DJ. She returned to sat beside Jason who was looking at Alex as she unwrapped the cover with trembling hands. The homeless girl looked at the burger but didn’t take a bite.

“Is it okay?” She asked Eddy.

“What?” Eddy lifted an eyebrow. “Just eat it. M’not hungry anyway.”

Penelope could swear that she saw tears on Alex’s eyes for a moment but disappear as soon as she blinked. The girl thanked them and took a big bite from the burger. Her eyes were closed as she munched the food, probably from tasting an actual food or to held back the tears she was about to shed. She looked like she was trying to eat slowly but failed miserably as she took another big bite.

“Girl, when was your last meal?” Jason asked suddenly.

“Three days.” she said casually. “... or four. I don’t remember. I never count anymore.”

“Wow, that explain.” Jason nodded his head. “I’m Jason by the way. This one is—“

“Eddy.” She said with a surprising hint excitement in her voice. “Edward Gabriel.”

The three Mob’s member, especially Eddy, looked at Alex, clearly surprised. “How do you know my name?”

“I’m a fan of y’all.” She grinned at them. “Back when I still got a place to return, I watched every single video about you guys. Basically, from all the flash mob things until The Vortex. I had to stop watching you guys in the middle season though, since I got kicked out of my home.”

A smile formed on Penelope’s lips. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Well, I had to clear my head back in the shower.” Alex said after she swallowed the last bite of the burger. “I thought I was death.” She added as she looked at Eddy.

The DJ shot him a glare and he rolled his eyes. “ _fineee_ , I’m sorry for being a jerk, ‘kay?” he finally apologized to the girl.

Alex chuckled whole-heartedly. “It’s okay. I’ve seen worst.”

When the girl ducked her head, Penelope almost missed the pink dust that decorated her cheek. _Oooh, this should be interesting._

The next hour was spent with them talking about The Mob. Alex had told them that the first time she saw their flash mob was back in the Ocean Drive. She was waiting for her father inside the car that was parked beside the car that Eddy and Sean used as their _stage._ Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she commented _fucking awesome_ about their performance. Alex admitted that she had been following their channels since then and stalked everything about them.

“Y’all like a dancing machine. I mean, you guys moved so fast, so good, so...” The girl made a gesture with her hands as if she’s trying to take something out of her chest. “... emotional.”

Jason sniggered at her comment. “I didn’t remember putting on thick eyeliner back then.”

“What?” The girl frowned. Her eyes grew twice the size when she realized what Jason mean “Uh. No! Not like that _emo,_ but emotional! Like uh... your dance has a feeling in it. Like, uh, you guys tried to, uh...” the girl trailed off as she tried to find a suitable word.

The dark skinned dancer busted into a laugh, followed by Penelope.

“Girl. Chill it.” Penelope said between her laugh. “He’s just messing around.”

“Her face looks so _goddamn_ funny.” Jason laughed. His hands was clutching his stomach while his eyes shut tightly from the intense laughs. “I thought her eyes gonna pop out of her head!”

“That is not very polite.” Alex scolded. However, with the smile on her lips, the girl doesn’t looked more amused rather than angry.

Penelope smacked Jason’s head when the dark skinned dancer continued laughing while trying to apologize as he calmed his breath. The DJ glanced at Eddy in time to saw him silently chuckling. She had been sneakily glancing at Eddy to make sure that he did not became an _asshole_ again. He had not made any harsh comment. In fact, the hacker had been giving the girl a smile when she excitedly talked about The Mob. From what she see, the hacker’s heart has starting to soften to the homeless girl. Even though, it looked like we was still holding back, the hacker seem to begin trusting and liked the girl. _Well, you cannot exactly hate a girl with that kind of charm and innocence oozing out of her body._

Just when the chat got heated, Penelope’s cellphone went off. She snatched the smartphone from the table and groaned at the alarm icon on the screen.

“Shit, I gotta go. Got a work in one hour.” She hurriedly stuffed her things that scattered on the table into her backpack.

“Well, we better start moving again, dude.” Eddy stood up and straightened his back. “Gotta finish the move as soon as we can.”

Jason replied with a hum and followed Eddy as he walked to the center of the room again.

“Alright, Alex. You better get some sleep again. Your fever will get better that way” The said girl smiled and nodded. “... and Eddy...” Pen trailed off.

“hm?”

“Don’t you dare trying to kick her out of here.” She threaten the hacker.

Eddy’s eyebrows knotted in disbelieve. “Really, Pen? I thought we passed that already.”

The DJ just chuckled and approached Jason. She gave him a peck before whispering something to his ear. Jason grinned and pulled off of her embrace.

“Aye, ma’am.” He saluted playfully. “I’m going to protect the innocent girl from this idiot.” He pointed to Eddy.

“You too, man?!” The hacker’s lifted up. “Come on!”

The DJ laughed whole-heartedly as she stormed to the door. “Just don’t do anything weird all of you!” She glanced at Alex and Eddy before closed the door and leave for her work with a grin on her face.

_Let’s just wish that something good going to happen in the Mob’s Garage._


	2. Is This a Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy? It's The Garage!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Uh I just want to tell those who read this. This story was made for my practice so I'm going to update it very slowly. Thank you for bearing with me!

Sleeping in a quiet place, moreover, a place with roof and walls has been such a foreign concept for Alex. Being on the road with no place to return has turned the idea of sleeping indoor into something luxurious. She hasn’t sleep in a room for months now, save for the occasional time when there was someone kind enough to let a stranger like her sleeping in their living room. But that was months ago, back when she was relatively clean and just freshly kicked out of her home. That’s why, when she woke up from a peaceful slumber in a relatively large room, she had to pinch her face to make sure that she is not in heaven.

The homeless girl glanced around the room carefully as she got up from where she had been sleeping. Her eyes suddenly glued to the logo on the floor in the middle of the room.

 _ _It was not  a dream,__ she thought. __I am in The Mob__ _ _’s__ _ _garage.__

A small laugh erupted from her and she immediately regret is as she felt a sudden pain on her head. She rubbed her temple as she glanced around the room again. The walls were covered with mirror in each sides, except for the one with door and couch. Two speakers were placed on two corners across the doors and there was a small table to place a laptop, maybe, under one of them. The corner of her lips tucked into a smile as she felt the slippery floor on her bare feet. __If it was a different occasion, she would love to have a whole studio to herself.__

Her gaze fell on to her reflection on the mirror. The short hair she once had has grown into shoulder length messy locks. Her originally pale skin tanned and covered with bruises in some small area, a gift from a man who tried to took advantage of her a week ago. Being a girl and homeless was not the easiest thing  in the world, if not the exact opposite. She almost always have to fight for something, either food, money, or self-defense. She rarely got a decent sleep that she stopped counting her last siestas. __Just like how she stopped counting her last meal.__

 _ _It’s dirty,__ she thought at the mirror that stained with hand prints and sweats. __It__ _ _’s dirty, j__ _ _ust like her last night.__

Alex looked around the room, looking for something that can be used to wipe the mirrors and found a rag and glass cleaner under the table. She grabbed them and began cleaning the slowly, thinking that it’s the least thing she can do for them who helped her.

\-----------------------------

“Wow! You cleaned it!” A familiar voice, because you watched the Vortex, echoed through the room as you rubbed the last stain on the mirror. Alex turned around to see Andie, Sean, Moose, and Eddy already in the room.

“Yeah.” She played the dirty rag in her hands. “You gave me a place to sleep. It’s the least I can do.”

“But you are sick.” A frown was visible on Sean’s face.

“I’m fine now. Penelope gave me medicine and it just weird if I just sit anyway.” Her face suddenly twisted into confusion when she saw the MSA graduated girl invaded her personal space, trying to touch her forehead. “W-what?! I’m fine now, really.”

The Mob’s leader shrugged and put his bag on the floor and sat, the other followed and make a circle. __Except the homeless girl.__

“Are you going to practice? ‘cause if you are then I better leave.”

“What? Oh! No. We just wanna hang out here and take it easy. This room wouldn’t be used until we go back to L.A.” Sean patted the empty area between him and Moose, inviting her to join them. He offered his hand when Alex sat with folded leg. “I’m Sean.”

Alex wiped her dirty palm on the pants she wore and took Sean’s hand in a firm grip. “Alex. Alexandra.” She smiled. “... and I know who you are.”

“You know?”

“Yeah! Just like how I know that you are Andie.” She pointed to the girl beside Sean. “And you are Moose.” She smiled to the boy beside her. “Guilty pleasure.”

The group’s eyebrow shoot up to their hairline except for Eddy. “She’s a fan.”

Various ‘oooh’ echoed through the room and Alex grimaced slightly when she suddenly became the focus of attention. Thankfully, it did not last long because Eddy asked for his food from Moose. The curly haired boy then distributed the food, including the one for Alex.

“I hope you don’t mind burger in the morning.”

“Uh. Thank you, but...” she tried to find a reason to reject the kind offer even though her stomach protested immediately.

“Don’t worry! It’s Eddy’s money.” Moose chuckled. He shoved the burger to her hand.

“I don’t want to. They stole my wallet.” The hacker scoffed as he unwrapped his burger.

“Oi!” Sean shoot him a look before sighed. “Sorry about him.”

Alex chuckled slightly and smiled. “It’s alright. I kinda understand that we should be aware of stranger.” She turned her head down, looking at the floor.

There were silence for a moment before Eddy sighed loudly. “Well, I kinda know you a little so you’re not a stranger.” The dark haired girl looked at Eddy as she speak. “Just eat it.”

The homeless girl glanced the others, who got assuring smile on their face, before looking down at her food. She gulped visibly and took a shuddering breath deeply. It was barely audible, but they managed to catch what she said as she whispered ‘thank you.’”

Alex kept her head down for a while, so she missed the look on Eddy’s face as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Your welcome.”

Probably sensing the awkward atmosphere coming, Andie grabbed her bag and pulled out a box. “Alright! Who is up for Jenga?”

Soon after that, everyone played the game as they ate. Alex declined the offer to play only to be forced to play by Andie. She hesitated at first, but joined the game shortly after that. The room filled with jokes and laughter slowly and without she realized they already played seven round.

“Damn it, girl! You’re good at this.” Andie laughed as Alex successfully pull out a stack from the nearly collapsed tower.

Alex chuckled. “I have a thing with balance.”

“No shit! It’s gonna fall on me.” It was Moose’s turn to play and just like what he said, the tower collapsed as soon as he touched them. “Ah! Dang it!”

“Ha! Ha! Put them back together, dude!” Eddy took a piece of stack and chucked it at the curly haired boy.

“Okay, okay! Jeez...” Moose grumbled as he rearranged the ruined tower.

Everyone laughed when Andie also threw a chunk to Moose.

“So, Alex. Do you dance?” Andie asked as she threw another chunk.

The homeless girl shook her head with a frown on her face “Uh. Not really. I’m not good at it.”

“Aw, come on. Eddy here always says that anybody can dance.” The MSA graduated said as she patted Eddy’s shoulder.

“Really. I’m not good at it.” The girl shyly chuckled and fidget with her finger a little.

“Come on!” Moose who has been rearranging the tower lazily suddenly stood up. “Just do this and this.” he said as he began popping and locking and dancing away from the group to the door.

“Yo! You fix the tower, man!” Sean yelled.

“Toilet break!”

They laughed when Moose began to pick his pace and run as soon as he was put of the room. Alex then offered to fix the tower.

“By the way,” Andie trailed as she took her bag when Alex began fixing the Jenga “I brought some clothes for you. Sean said that you might not have anything else to wear.”

“W-...Wha-? oh shit.” The half-arranged tower suddenly collapsed when Alex turned her head too quickly. She sighed when she failed to keep it balanced. “Thank you very much but I don’t think I can take that. You already gave me shelter and food and I don’t even have money to pay you back.”

“We didn’t ask for money.” Sean scoffed.

Her eyes widened and she began stuttering when the Mob’ leader mistook what she says. “I-I know and it’s not like that. It’s just me feeling bad. I-I washed my clothes last night and I’ll leave when it dried.”

“You wanna go? Where?” Eddy folded his arm.

Alex glanced at Eddy for a moment before looking down at the floor. “I... I don’t know actually. I’ll just go around the city, trying to find a job.”

“Yeah, but where are you gonna sleep?” The hacker asked again.

“Uh... the alleyway usually quiet at night, so i could just... w-why are you looking at me like that?” Alex frowned when the other eyebrow shot up to their hairline, disbelieve evident on their face.

“You know what? You are going home with us tonight.” Andie claimed.

“Huh?!” The homeless girl exclaimed.

“Yeah, we got spare room you could sleep there.” The mob leader supported his girlfriend.

“No! Please. I-I can’t accept that. You guys already gave me too much. I’ll be fine.”

“But we don’t like the idea of making you __homeless__ again.” The couple shout almost in unison.

She was about to make an argument again when Eddy cut her.“How about this? Why don’t you just stay here?” The hacker offered. “I mean you’re still sick and If you don’t want to stay with them then you can stay here.”

“I-It’s okay. I’m a stranger. You don't have too.” She looked at her hands, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Hei, it’s okay. It’s not like the garage will be completely empty anyway. I sold my house in Miami, so I’ll be sleeping here until we return to Vegas. I got my room upstairs. It got only one bed but you could sleep there and I’ll sleep on the couch.” The hacker explained.

“But...” She froze when she look at Eddy’s face. She only spend few hour with the hacker but she was already used to his harsh comment and stubbornness. So when she saw how soft and sincere his eyes as he looked at her, her face heat up immediately and she turned her head down to hide the blush. “I-... I’ll take the couch.”

“There you go!” Eddy took a sip of his cola.

The homeless girl sighed. A little piece of memory when she was back at home watching the Mob’s videos swirled in her mind. She could remember clearly when she focused solely on the hacker as he dance. The way he grinned  as he gracefully moved in rhythm or how his cheek puffed when he put more power in his move was one of the things that keep her positive despite how bad her problem is. His smile, which is a mix between cute and masculine, was one of the thing that always managed to brighten her day whenever she was in the low.

__So... How could she forgot how handsome he is?_ _

When she look up, she caught a glimpse of Andie and Sean sharing a knowing look. The Mob’s leader’s eyebrow lifted as he gave Alex a teasing look. Her face might turned red again if not for Moose interrupting.

“Dude! It’s so crowded outside? You guys open a class or something?”The curly haired boy suddenly came without notice, yelling.

“Nah. It’s Celestine.” Sean stated.

“oh.” Moose fixed his tilted hat as he walked to the group. He frowned when he saw Alex’s face. “Okay, did I miss something?”

“We just agree that Alex is going to stay and work here.” Andie answered with a proud smile.

“Work?” Alex looked at Andie in confusion. She remember agreeing to sleep here but not working. Her brain worked at full speed as she tried to remember if she ever agreeing about working here.

“Yep. Remember the previous janitor that keep breaking the door? Eddie fired him few days ago so maybe if she want she can work here as a janitor. I mean look at the mirror! I can see my face now!” Andie pointed at the mirror that Alex cleaned.

The hacker hummed like he was thinking before nodded a little. “That’s  actually a good idea. If you feel bad for getting anything for free, you might as well work here. Some people sleep on their workplace, right Sean?” He wiggle his eyebrow at Sean.

“Shut up.”

A wholehearted laugh erupted from the group as Sean groaned. __Except for Alex, who is on the verge of crying.__

The homeless girl took a deep breath before exhaling it shakily. “Thank you very much.” Her jaw worked and her throat got dry as tears threatening to fall from her eyes “It’s just... it’s been a while since people be kind to me.”

“Ah... Geez. Don’t cry.” Eddy scratched his head again, light blush appeared on his face. “It’s not a problem. Just take it as my apologize for being a dick.”

Sean gasped dramatically as he put his hand on his chest. “Dude! Did an angel you hit your head? You didn’t sounds like you.”

“Shut up.”

The crowd laughed and Alex couldn’t help but smile at them. For once she felt the warmth of people who genuinely care about her and she could not help but admit that she loves it. Back when she still live with her family, she always have to be the one who followed what the other wants. Her father without a doubt was a cold man, judging by how easily he kicked her out of the house. She thought her life was done for the moment she started sleeping on random places.

__But maybe this could be a new start for her._ _


	3. I Hope It Was Prince Ali but It's Was Just Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, Everyone! I'm kinda in the DWTS mood that's why I could post this chapter faster! By the way, I never drink alcoholbefore and I kinda have no idea when someone will actually feel tipsy. I did a little bit research but I'm not really sure because I only read it on google.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading. If you find any mistakes please kindly tell me because psst... I don't have a beta reader.
> 
> Enjoy~

“Okay everyone, that’s it. Thank you very much!” Eddy clapped as he closed his hip hop Master Class. The class slowly emptied out as some of the students hurriedly went to go to the other class, while some other decided to stay and took some picture with Eddy or ask for his sign.

After they won the Vortex and money starting to fill his bank account, Eddy decided to take over the ownership of the garage’s building from Anderson. The older man gladly sell the building to him, saying that it would have more benefit if it was in Eddy’s care. But Eddy doesn’t care about benefit too much, all that he want was to fulfill one of his own lifetime wishes, to have his own dance studio. The garage that originally used as the Mob’s bat cave now turned into a studio dance for those who wants to learn to dance.

He wiped the sweat on his face as he watched the last student leave the room and Alex walked in with a rug and glass cleaner on her hands. He watched silently as the girl walked across the room with her head slightly turned down. It’s been 2 week since Alex shows up and began working at the garage. The girl worked hard everyday, always be the first to wake up and last to sleep. She make sure that the building is always clean, before she leaves to find another job and returned before any class started. She even made sure that all the speaker are functioning properly everyday.

She also got closer to the crew, always flashing her smile and doesn’t mind running errand to buy food or fetch something for them. She openly shared the other about her experiences when she lives on the street and in return the crew told them their own story after they successfully overtook the Vortex. At some point, she and Andie even started a pun war, after his best friend’s girlfriend accidentally made a REALLY BAD pun about her Chinese takeaway which resulted with the garage filled with a lot of groans for a whole week because turn out Alex love throwing pun, A LOT. There were times when she completely gone silent when they asked about how she got kicked out, still not comfortable sharing her stories with he others. Though, most of the time she was a cheerful and friendly person who wouldn’t mind being friends with anyone. _But not with eddy._

_Something telling him that the girl hate him or something._

Eddy admitted that he was being a jerk when he wanted to kick the girl out of his building. But when he saw her asleep on the couch in the morning she first meet them, he knew he fucked up _really bad._  The girl looked small and fragile in Sean’s big clothing. When Jason left earlier to pick up Penelope that morning, Eddy spent a whole hour just looking at her face as she sleep peacefully. He might looked like a creep that way but he did that because guilt slowly starting to weight his chest. He realized that he was a jerk and now he wanted to fixed it.

“Yo! Alex.” He said as he approached the homeless girl

“Yes?” She turned around a little bit quickly.

“Everyone’s going to hang out at Ricky’s tonight.” The hacker absentmindedly scratched his head. “Maybe you should join us.”

Alex smiled slightly. “Thank you but I think I’ll just stay here tonight.”

“You are almost always here everyday.”

“I went outside sometimes.”

“To run an errand.” Eddy pointed sourly. “Or find a job.”

Her eyes suddenly widened and her body slightly tensed.“Look, It’s not like I’m not grateful with my job but I went to--” Eddy cut her when she started stuttering.

“I get it. You just want to find a job to fill your free time. I understand. I did that too.” The hacker gave her his pleading eye. “Just come.”

The girl was silent for a moment, contemplating the offer. Eddy almost believed that she will refuse the invitation until she took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay. I’ll come.” She said with a smile.

\- THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE -

The Ricky’s Club Habanero was a bar that Eddy and Sean knew ever since they were a kid. Here was a perfect place for the Mob to hangout because no matter how noisy and crazy they are, Ricky would never kicked them out of his bar. When the Mob and LMNTRX was busy with the Vortex, Ricky was busy remodeling his club to add a kitchen so he could serve food for the costumers. Even though the club is bigger and the decoration was much more classier now, some of the crew still believed that Ricky’s Club was another home for the Mob.

The crew was sitting on one corner with a big couch, drinks and snacks randomly filled the table. They were sharing the stories about their most embarrassing moment about their time in L.A to Ricky. Eddy took a small sip of his beer as Sean told Ricky about their crazy auditions. The hacker felt that he was starting to get tipsy. He wanted to drink a lot but he could not get completely drunk. _Not when the bathroom is a floor away from his bedroom._

He was trying to snatch a chip from Moose when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, everyone.” Alex waved at them as she spotted the crew.

The girl was wearing plaid that Eddy gave to her over a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Her hair hung loosely on her shoulder. Added a pair of dirty sneaker and you got the Alex’s-not-so-hobo looks.

“Alex! Come here, come here!” Sean stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Alex, this is Ricky the owner of this place.” He introduced her to Ricky.

The older man offered his hand and Alex shake it with a firm grip. He smiled when Alex cautiously looked around the bar. “Just order whatever you want! I never asked for money from Sean’s friend!”

The girl raised her eyebrows in confusion. “He’s kinda like my foster father.” Sean explained.

The girl was nodding excitedly as she between Eddy and Chad. Ricky went behind the stool to help his new employee.

Everyone continued sharing their story as the homeless girl joined them. Without they realised minutes turned into hours and and more drinks and food filled the table. Their conversation shifted randomly as they talked basically about annything, from the L.A, Kiddo’s struggle with English, even about Ricky’s back pain. Alex was silent mostly, just listened to them with excitement on her eyes as she drank her beer. Though, sometimes she would throws jokes at them. _And whenever she did, it was the funniest thing Eddy ever heard._

Eddy also noticed that the girl could hold her drinks. She nearly finished her third bottle and she still could speak normally.

Violet who was a little bit drunk frowned when Alex took a sip of her beer. “Are you numb? Don’t you feel anything?” She slurred.

“Well, I’m kinda tipsy actually but I used to drink a lot of this back then so I’m okay.” She smiled at her. “One bottle of this every morning, another one before bed. Everyday. Sometimes I even drank something stronger.

Eddy’s interest quicker,he didn’t expect her to be alcoholic.“You never told us about that _‘back then’_.”

“It’s not interesting.” She claimed. Her shoulder tensed.

“Shoot.” Sean encouraged her.

She gently shook her head. “No. It’s really not interesting.”

“We have endured your and Andie’s pun war for a week. I’m sure your story wouldn’t be much _cringe-worthy_ than that. Spill some bean, girl! Come on!” Penelope slapped her forehead.

The girl bites her lips as emotions swirled on her eyes. Her jaw tightened a little as she avoid everyone’s gaze. They thought she will gone silent again like usual when she sighed.

“It’s not like I’m alcoholic. It’s just...” She suddenly began, surprising everyone. “I lived with my dad and I kinda needed them to keep moving.”

“Your dad?” Jason asked. “You said that the first time you see us you were in your dad’s car.”

“Yep. He was a rich man and, uh... he’s a kind of father that would create a path for your future an forced you to go through it.” She played with her bottle. “He is a good man actually but the things that he made me do wasn’t really enjoyable. Last time I talked to him, he want me to marry someone that I don’t even ”

 _“Kawaisou”_ Kiddo muttered in Japanese.

Alex, somehow understood what Kiddo said, chuckled bitterly. “More like pathetic. I don’t have power at home, that’s why I became friend with these things. To forget the shits I’m going through momentarily.” She looked at the drink on her hand with fondness before it turned sour within split second. “But they only helped me avoid my problem. Not solving them. Not changing anything.” She finished her drink in one big gulp.

Eddy and the other was silent as she quietly placed the empty bottle tot he table. The song played in the background somehow did not match the sadness in her eyes. She took their silence as her cue to go on.

“So I decided to man up and go against his will. He became furious and started hitting me.”

Various gasps and voice of disapproval came from the other. Penelope and Andie being the loudest as they said “Oh my god!”

“So you ran away?” Jason asked.

“No! That’s too childish. I... think.” She mumbled the last part. “My brother took me to a bar and got me drunk. But believe me it’s not like those porn scenario.” She joked, successfully lifted the gloomy mood. “I passed out and when I woke up the bar was already closed. My brother is gone and my wallet also gone.”

“He took your wallet?!”

“Probably.” Alex scratched her head nonchalantly. “I was more worried that when I returned back home, no one allowed me to go inside. Everyone was like ‘ _I’m sorry, sir. We are not allowed to let a stranger inside.’_ The hell! It was my house!” She nearly screamed. When the other guest looked at her with weird look, she smiled apologetically and leaned back on her chair. “That was when I realized that they kicked me out.”

The homeless girl took a deep breath as she stared at the empty bottle on the table. Her eyebrow knitted together as she tried to contain all the emotion within her. Her eyes glowed in anger for a split second before it glisten by tears. She blinked quickly to hide the tears. _But Eddy managed to saw it._

“There it is, ‘back in the day’.” She sneered, with no trace of fondness as she said the last part. “I think I need another bottle.”

The twin Santiago scrambled to their feet to fetch a bottle of beer. When they gave it to Alex, she mumbled _‘thank you’_ with bitter smile.

“Wow, that’s some story, girl.” Violet shook her head.

Eddy winced as he looked at the girl took a really big gulp of her beer. “That’s why I don’t wanna tell you.” She sighed. “Like a really bad story when the King want his son to be the next king but the son just wanted to be a knight. Too bad that this is not a fairy tale.”

Everyone was silent by now, not knowing what to say after hearing such story from someone they just meet for two weeks. Andie was nodding slightly, her eyes filled with many emotions, mirroring Alex. Sean and Jason had their arms folded on their chest, clearly not happy when they heard that her father beat her up just because she disobey him once. While the other just looked at Alex with sympathy or pity, Eddy tried not to look at her with pity . _Because Eddy wants to believe that she doesn’t want to be pitied._

Eddy exhaled loudly and felt the tension, that he didn’t know was on his shoulder, left his body. “Look, maybe your father forced you to be whatever he want there. But you’re here now.” He motioned to all the Mob member. “You’re with The Mob and you’re free to be whatever you want. As long as it’s not a serial killer.”

The crew laughed at his joke and he caught a moment when Alex’s lips slowly tucked into smile. Though, the girl suddenly lowered her head so her expression was hidden. Eddy thought that maybe she just faked her smile and he worried that he might have offended her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” The hacker asked.

“Nothing.” She shook her head with a smile on her face. “It’s just...”she scratched her head and trailed off.

When nobody talked again, Sean cleared his throat and took Alex’s empty bottle in the middle of the table. “Alright, why don’t we play spin the bottle and dare to cheer Alex?”

Various groans came from the others. Everyone know how nasty the dare that he and Eddy gave and some of them decided to just watch rather than actually join the game. Andie, Kiddo, Violet and Celestine was unusually eager to play, determined to lighten the homeless girl’s mood. Jason, The Santiago twins and Chad joined in too, for they are brave enough to put up with Sean and Eddy’s dare. Of course the poor girl was forced to play since it was supposed to cheer her up.  

Alex turned the bottle first and watch it nervously as it landed on Chad. Being the first, Chad was dared to drink 1 liter of water within one swig. The next spin, it stopped at Moose, who was dared to do a lap dance for 60 second for his girlfriend. Alex’s face was twisted in horror as the dare getting crazier, from drinking 5 shot of whiskey, to asking a random guest to sign slap face. They had spin the bottle for more than ten times but it never landed on Alex. _Until Sean spin it._

“HA! FINALY!” The Mob leader exclaimed.

“Aw, but we’re playing to cheer me.” She tossed her hands on the air as she complained.

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for this. I dared you to sing a Disney song on the stage there!” Sean pointed at the stage in the middle of the room.

“That’s too much man!” Eddy protested.

“Hey! We gotta teach her the Mob way.”

“You’re right! Come on, Alex!”

“Alex! Alex!” They began chanting her name as she smiled awkwardly and pushed herself off the chair. She grabbed an unused napkin that was on their table and put it on her pocket. _What was that for?_

They watched quietly as she approached Ricky who was standing near the stage. They talked for a while, probably asking if she can use the stage, and he nodded with a big smile. He was used with their antic and this was no difference. She walked to the stage and talked again, with the band members this time before, she borrowed the mic. Standing in the middle of the stage, the girl gave an awkward grin as she greet the other guests.

Alex exhaled loudly to the mic, readying herself to do the dare. Eddy chuckled when she rubbed her hands together, trying to calm herself. At this point, the hacker expected her to sang badly. He expect her to stutter, forgot a lyric or be completely off of tune. However, when she grip the mic and looked at their direction, he knew he was completely wrong.  
  
”Ma cherie, Mademoiselle. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents...” She stopped for a moment with her hand on her stomach her body bowed a little. “Your dinner.”

_Be... our... guest!_  
_Be our guest!_   
_Put our service to the test_

The hacker’s eye widen as the girl unexpectedly sang confidently. She pulled a napkin from her pocket and tucked it on the collar of her shirt.

_Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie_  
_And we'll provide the rest_

_Soup du jour!_  
_Hot hors d'oeuvres!_  
_Why, we only live to serve._  
_Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!_  
_Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!_

She comically pointed at the nearest plate. The napkin on her collar was snatched then tied to the mic stand. Alex took the mic from the stand and continued singing as she walked with a little dance to one of the empty table and took another napkin. She then went back to the stage and spun twice before placing the mic back to it’s stand. Her face lit up with smile as she tied the napkin to the other that’s already on the mic stand she tied earlier. The now arm length napkins was took on her hand and she gripped the mic stand. She started dancing with the mic stand, pretending it was her dancing partner. She did a quickstep to the dance floor that somehow reminded Eddy to one of _Dancing With The Star’s_  routine.

_Beef ragout, Cheese souffle,_  
_Pie and pudding "en flambe"_  
_We'll prepare and serve with flair, A culinary cabaret!_  


 _You're alone and you're scared_  
_But the banquet's all prepared_  
_No one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining_  


_We tell jokes, I do tricks!_  
_With my fellow candlesticks_  
_And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet!_

  
People whistled and shouted in excitement as she skillfully keep the mic near her lips as she brought the stand to spin. It slowly dawned to him that he saw this routine when Val and Danica used this song for their performance. Although, Alex’s step is much more lighter and she put less power on her dance, probably to keep her voice balanced. Eddy barely blink when Alex suddenly stopped in the middle of the floor and sang slow part. At this point Eddy stop paying attention to anything around him and his eyes focused solely on her as she poured her soul to the song.

When the song got faster again, she took the mic from the stand again and began inviting others to dance on the floor. Ricky’s mother was the first one who took the invitation as she forced Ricky to dance with her. The other guests also joined around and began dancing cheerfully. Not wanting to lose, Andie and Sean went to the dance floor, followed with several other member. Eddy was not sure who else danced, he was way too immersed to her performance.

When the dance floor was crowded with people, she took the mic from it’s stand returned back to the stage and propped one leg on the speaker.

 _Tonight you'll prop your feet up_  
_But for now, let's eat up_  


 _Be our guest!_  
_Be our guest!_  
_Be our guest!_  
_Please, be our guest!_  


Her arms spread open as she hit the highest note and finished it with bowed pose.

Everyone immediately surrounded her, screaming and chanting Alex’s name again. He caught a moment when Andie hugged and ruffled Alex’s hair, with Sean standing behind them as he shook his had with amusement. Somewhere in the background he heard Moose screamed ‘ _So much for I cannot dance!’_ as he patted Alex’s shoulder.

Alex was smiling brightly as everyone excitedly asked for encore. Her eyes searched around the bar and, much to Eddy’s disbelieve, when it landed on him, her smile became brighter. Eddy’s breath caught on his throat and his heart skipped a beat. Her face when she smiles, though Eddy doesn’t want to admit, was the sweetest and most heartwarming sight he ever seen. His heart rate increase as he saw her mouthed ‘ _thank you._ ’ to him. The girl barely made a conversation with him and now she gave him her gratitude to him and he couldn’t help but like the way his own chest warmed at the feeling.

****_They might have found an unpolished gem here._ ** **


	4. Small Step or Big Step. It Does not Matter, Just Step UP!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna tell you that I'm busy with my thesis so I cannot focus solely on my fic.  
> Thank you for waiting~!

_The door of a room opened, revealing a black haired girl in a suit. “Dad. Are you looking for me?” Alex asked as she entered her father’s office._

_Her father was standing in front of his table. He was holding a blue cloth with a white mask on top of it. “Yes. Is this yours?” he pointed at the mask and the dress._

_Her eyes widened the moment she saw the material and her face turned pale. “I-I can explain. The mask is for--”_

_“It’s not the mask!” He scowled as he placed the mask on the table.“ As long as you keep your identity a secret I don’t care with whatever you do with your phone and computer, Alex. You can sing and put it on the internet. I don’t care!” Alex backed a little at her father’s anger. “But what is this?!” He unfolded the cloth, showing a blue coloured dress._

_“It’s... It’s a dress that I bought online.” She said, almost whispered._

_The man suddenly throw the dress to the floor. “How many time do I have to tell you that a man are not allowed to wear a dress?!”_

_A frown formed on Alex’s face as something ticked on her head. “But dad, I’m not a man!”_

_“You are!” He barked as he stepped closer to Alex, making the girl jolted at the sudden outburst. “You’re my son trapped in female body!” He suddenly hit her on the stomach. “Stance”_

_Her brows knitted together the moment his fist collided with her body. She coughed several times before she stubbornly shook her head as she crouched a little. “I don’t wanna fight you.”_

_He grabbed the collar of her shirt and punch her straight on her face. Her body thrown back as the force brought her to the floor. Her face twisted in pain as she tried to endure the pain when her father began kicking her legs and stomach._

_“Father! It’s hurt please stop!” She covered her head as she afraid that he might kick her head._

_“No.” The man stopped kicking her and took several step back. “Stand up and fight me like a man.”_

_“But I’m not--”_

_“FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!”He barked again and stepped on her hand._

_Alex yelped, tears began rolling down her eyes as her father continued his assault.“Dad, stop it please! Stop!” She hopelessly begged him._ “STOP!”

“NO!” The homeless girl shoot into sitting position as she was forcefully pulled away from her dream.

She was breathing heavily and her eyes were open wide as she scanned the studio, looking for the source of her nightmare. She gulped when she realize that she was alone. __Yet his voice still could be heard.__

Even though she knew that she was save in the garage, her father still haunt her even in her dreams. His voice echoed inside her mind and it got louder as she close her eyes. She closed her eyes tighter and began shaking her head furiously. Her hands covered her ears from voices inside her head and she screamed loudly to cast off those voices.

“Why the hell are you still bothering me when I’m already out of that house! Stop coming to my dream!” She turned around furiously and buried her head on the couch. “I was born like this why won’t you accept me as your daughter?! If you despise me so much just leave me alone!”

Tears rolled to her cheeks as her cries muffled by the couch. The girl chanted __‘leave me alone’__ and some incoherent words repeatedly as she trembled in fear. Her hands covered her head like there was someone who is going to hit her. Alex stayed in that position for few minutes. Her shoulder shakes as the cries turned into sobs.

After the cry completely stopped, she keep crouching on the couch for a while without making any voice. She suddenly raised her head and looked at the mirror. There she saw a pathetic girl.

__‘This is not right.’__ She thought as she looked at how messy her hair. _ _‘I’m weak and it’s exactly what he wants. He want me to be weak. He want me to think that I cannot do anything without him.’__

__‘No.’__ She stared at her hands that rested on her lap. __‘I’m not in that house anymore. I can be whatever I want now.’__

“I’m going to be whatever I want.”

 

\-----------------SPECIAL SOMEONE ----------------

 

Eddy was kind enough to give her weekly wage and he pay her with slightly higher wage than most janitor had. She knew that he gave too much but she was too afraid to mention it for she does not want to sounds ungrateful. She needed the money anyway. When Eddy gave her the first salary two weeks ago, she immediately went to the doctor to see if she have any kind of disease. __Fortunately, she was healthy enough aside from the flue.__

However, even though Eddy pay her weekly, the homeless girl barely spend any money. Alex does not have to buy new clothes aside for some bra and panties because the crew gave some of their clothes for her. Eddy also always bought her some meals, saying that it was part of her [bayaran kerjaan]. With everything already provided for her, the money began to fill her newly bought wallet and because she does not have to worry about money anymore, what Eddy said to her starting to sink in.

__“Be whatever you want.”_ _

It was a simple sentence yet it sank deeply to her mind and warmed her heart. He is right, she could be whatever she want and she wanted to change. So she did with the smallest step.

__She cut her hair._ _

__And had it dyed too!_ _

The girl decided that it is time to say goodbye to her shoulder length hair. Her messy, uncared, shoulder length hair, which made her looked more homeless, was trimmed a little. The length does not look different too much but the newly curled and blond hair shows that she just had her hair done. She never had her hair done as she likes. Her father always told her to cut her hair every time it passed her ears a little. He always made her have messy short hair, making her looked more manly than she prefer. She did not mind shorter hair, but having her hair done as she preferred feels like a new accomplishment.

__But even with Alex’s newly cut hair, the weather would not go easy on her._ _

Alex wiped few sweats that rolled from her forehead as she walked around the busy street. The sun was high as it was the middle of the day and the heat was hitting her face painfully. Two bags filled with snacks and drinks swung slowly as she walked silently to the garage. The girl usually enjoyed walking around the city as she watch people but today her head turned down slightly as she tried to avoid the sun’s torture.

__She should have borrowed Andie’s hat._ _

The homeless girl groaned. She knew that staying at the garage for a whole day, especially in this hot weather, would be great but she hate the thought of not doing anything with her free time. She told Eddy that she had something to do and Eddy asked her to buy some snacks and drinks for the crew when she returned. Alex took the money when he said that he didn’t mind if she will go for few hours. Though she had no idea that today will be extremely hot.

The girl nearly screamed when she saw the garage’s building and rushed inside.

“I officially hate using clothes.” Alex groaned as she entered the room that usually occupied by the Mob’s member. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that you guys give me something to wear but I swear the weather today is not fabric friendly.” She placed one bag of various drinks on the floor next to Violet.

“Ditto!” The raven haired dancer grab the plastic bag and took a mineral water out of it. Her smile bright up when she looked at Alex. “Oh my God! You changed your hair color!”

“Ah, yeah. I just wanna cut it but the lady said that she want to color and she will do it for free!” She rolled few strain of hair between her finger before placing the snacks on the table. “She said it bring out my girly and manly side at the same time. I don’t even know what she meant.” She shrugged.

Moose whistled . “Looks good, girl.”

“Thanks!”

Alex began distributing the snacks to everyone while complaining about the weather again. She was giving Chad his M&M when Sean walked in and told her that Eddy was waiting for her on the lobby.

“Wait a sex--.” The girl slapped her mouth while she stood and stormed to the lobby, ignoring the others laugh at her slip of tongue.

When Alex went to the /lorong/ she saw Eddy was waiting for her near the stairs. His head turned down slightly as he looked at his phone.

“You call me?” The girl asked as she approached the hacker.

“Hey, I’m planning t--” The hacker lifted his head and stopped mid sentence. His eyes widen as if he just see a ghost. “Y-Your hair...?”

“Yeah! I had it fixed.” Alex grinned childishly. She tilted her head slightly when she heard no respond from Eddy. “So what is it?”

As if he just woke up from a dream, Eddy blinked several times and turned his gaze somewhere else. “I-um...” Eddy cleared his throat when he realized that his voice has risen slightly. “I was planning to turn one room on the upper floor into a gym. What do you think?” His eyebrows knitted when he looked at Alex.

Alex tapped her chin and hummed. “I guess...it’s fine? I mean, you have four studios here and if you turned one into a gym, the garage will make more profit.” She wondered why Eddy asked for her opinion but decided not to say it. “Which room you’ll change?”

“The smallest one. The one next to my room.” The hacker said and frowned. “But I still have no idea where I should buy the gears.”

Alex’s eyebrows lifted slightly as she just remember something. “Oh , I know a good store. It’s online but they have good quality.” She grinned.

“yeah, yeah... uh sure.” “I uh-- I’ll join the other.”

Alex watched quietly as Eddy walked away. She tilted her head slightly, confused with his behavior. If she had not know Eddy, she probably going to think that Eddy became awkward because of her new look. The hacker looked unusually nervous when he talked to her and avoided eye contact a lot. Her face heated up a little when she thought that actually he looked kind of... __cute.__

__Well, he is cute._ _

__And handsome..._ _

__What the fuck am I thinking, I cannot be a fan girl to my own boss._ _

She shook her head in attempt to brush the thought as she walked back into the room.

“S-Shut up, dude.” Eddie’s voice echoed through the room as soon as she walked in.

Alex frowned when she saw Eddy jabbed Sean’s side, “What’s wrong?”

The hacker just shook his head while scratching his head. The other looked at him with teasing look. Alex frowned, feeling alienated by the whole situation.

Sean gave a light chuckle to his best friend. “By the way, Alex.” Sean fished out a phone and handed it to the homeless girl. “Here take this phone.”

“Huh?” She took it hesitantly.

“It’s for you.” The Mob leader said casually.

“Wha-- Why? I-I cannot accept it.” She tried to push the phone back to Sean. “You guys already gave me so much. I can’t take it.”

“Nah. Uh... It’s an old phone.” The mob leader rubbed his neck as he look at the floor.“I just bough a new one and, uh, there’s no way I’m gonna throw it away because it’s still fully functioned.”

The homeless girl were about to decline the offer when Eddy suddenly cut her. “Just take it.” He said.“It’s convenient. Now we don’t have to go around the garage to find you.”

The girl was about to argue again when Eddy gave her a /stern/ look. She then nodded meekly and said. “Okay. Uh, thank you very much, Sean.”

Sean grinned awkwardly as he shook his head and said, “Don’t mention it.”

The hacker nudge his best friend with his elbow and signaling to go to the other corner of the room.“Sean? We need to talk about the line up of out opening show.”

The two founder of The Mob walked outside of the room after Sean gave him a quick nod. Alex watched them silently until they disappear behind the door before deciding to join the others. She approached Violet, Andie, Moose and Celestine who gathered near the couch. Her eyes /casted down slightly/ as she examined the phone. Her lips formed a fond smile when she noticed a familiar /goresan/ on it.

The girl sat next to Moose and Andie on the floor. “Both of them are bad liars.” She chuckled.

“What? Who?” The curly haired boy lifted a brow.

“Both of them. They’re pretty obvious.” She showed the phone to Moose. “This type released three months ago and I know that this is not belong to Sean.” She rubbed the /goresan/on the edge of the phone. “It is Eddy’s phone. I recognize it.”

“Err... that.” Moose’s eyes grew wide comically. “Busted”

Andie snorted. “You’re right, girl. Eddy probably embarrassed to give you that. That’s why he asked Sean to give it to you instead.”  

The homeless girl scratched her head absentmindedly. “It feels like I’m being spoiled.” She sighed. “You gave me shelter, clothes, job, food... And now Eddy gave me this.”

“Hey. You deserve it okay.” The MSA graduated girl patted Alex’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to say this, but your life suck. Even before you became a homeless.”

“Yup!” Violet nodded eagerly. “Listening to your story last week kinda make me realize that I’m pretty lucky.”

“I’m glad that you get out of your house.” Moose

“Kicked out-” Alex corrected.

“Yeaaah... But look at the bright side, if you stayed with your father you might never meet us, right? It’s great that you were homeless. I mean, it’s not.. It’s not like being a homeless is a great experience. What I’m trying to say is-.”

“Moose, I understand.” Alex smiled gently at him. “It’s just... all of you are really kind to me even though you barely know me. I mean, I-I’m a stranger. It’s not even one month yet all of you already trust me this much. I-I--...”

“Hey, stop it.”Andie shook Alex’s shoulder slightly, stopping her from her ramble. “You deserve it, okay? No more argument.”

The homeless girl looked at Andie and then at the other. She could feel the tears welling up on her eyes upon seeing the honesty on their eyes. She refuse to let it spilled though. She had cried a lot and she already promised herself to not be weak again. After taking a deep breath, Alex mumbled _ _‘thank you’__ meekly.

Satisfied with Alex’s response, Andie patted Alex’s shoulder once again. They changed the subject and talked about the tour that was going to be held by The Chmerkovskiy brothers. The girl didn’t pay attention though. Only staring at her new phone as she rubbed the scratch mark.

__When was the last time she used a phone?_ _

Alex tried to remember correctly. The last time she hold a phone was before she gave her phone to someone in change for some small amount of money. It was Iphone’s latest model at that time, which could be considered to be very expensive. Alex was a woman of technology, so having a good gadget on her hand was a must. She was quite active on social media like Twitter and Instagram. She also published a lot of video of her singing to a song on Youtube and gained a lot of subscriber. __Though due to many circumstance, she never revealed her face on any of her social media.__

However, even though she had an expensive phone, a lot of subscriber and follower, it does not change the fact that she does not have money nor food. She was hungry and it was not like she could eat the phone or use it because the battery died. Because her life was much more important than a phone, she decided to sell it to a random guy for a really cheap price. __At least it was enough to buy food for a week.__

The homeless girl let out a content sigh as her mind trailed off. She got a very good phone and she was planning to use to it’s best use. She might be able do her old stuff again. She could start by being active on her social media account again and maybe later she could published a new cover song.

The girl gripped her phone with both hand and brought it to her lips. A small smile formed on her lips as she listed all things that she was going to do. She already took the small step and now she was ready to take a bigger one.

__After all, she could do whatever she want._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and kudos will be appreciated.


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